“I never travel without my diary. One should always have somethingsensational to read in the train.” - Oscar Wilde

Thursday 15th August

I didn't want to get up when the alarm went off, but if we were going to get the best out of the day we needed to get up and get going. Despite initial reluctance Robbie was out of bed and into the kitchen while I still clung to the duvet.

We were on the road before 9.30am and by 10.00am we were pulling into the station car park at Holt. For the third time this holiday we were at the North Norfolk Railway, sitting on the first train of the day with a cup of tea (coffee for Robbie) waiting to depart. What could possibly be better than this? I love the feeling of anticipation with the whole day stretching ahead of us. I don't mind if I travel on a coach or compartment that I've travelled on before, I don't mind which engine is out, and (unlike Robbie) I don't even care if we depart late, I just love the whole experience. 

The railway was very busy today and we had more than our fair share of badly behaved brats travelling on the trains. As a parent and step parent I know that coping with children can be challenging but it is up to the parent to set limits and to say 'no' and mean it when necessary. Why on earth do they think that it's acceptable for their 'little angels' to stand on seats, to yell at the top of their voices throughout the journey and to behave in a way that spoils the experience for everyone else. One little horror who rejoiced in the name Caspian had a father who was so pathetic that I wanted to shake him and tell him to man up and control his child. Who calls a child Caspian for heaven sake,  with a name like that its hardly surprising that the boy has issues. 

We spent the earlier part of the day dodging badly behaved children, but it didn't stop us enjoying the railway. There is something about Weybourne in particular that makes you feel calm and relaxed and the Ladies toilet is so wonderful that you can't help smiling. The black five and the 5619 were out today, they are both interesting, 5619 was making a strange blowing noise again today, we heard it making the same noise last Wednesday but it sounded fine on Sunday so I don't know what is wrong with it. 

I must admit that I tend to prefer diesels rather than steam so I always look forward to the last two round trips from Sheringham. Today we had a Class 101, Robbie likes it, but it is not among my favourites. To me it feels like being on a bus and I'm not into buses in the way that Robbie is. We sat at the front in the seats behind the driver and I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The view through the front windows enables you to see things which you would usually miss, so we took lots of photos. When we were departing Holt we saw deer running across the field and Robbie even managed to get a photo.

"For solace and relief I flee to Bradshaw or the ABC, and find the best of recreations In studying the names of stations." C L Graves

Sunday 11th August

We had another early start and once again Robbie was eager to get up and get ready. Before long he was showered, shaved, the picnic was packed and we were ready to go. The things I do for Robbie, I'd agreed to give up The Archers, a trip to the car boot sale and Sunday Lunch at Jonet so that Robbie could go back to the North Norfolk Railway on a day when the bookshop would be open. I didn't mind all that much really. 

We arrived in Holt bright and early, the station was only just waking up and Robbie got some lovely photos of the station while there were no people in the way. My early start was rewarded with a nice cup of tea and we caught the first train to Weybourne. Robbie rushed around taking photos as usual, not just photos of trains, he stood by the door with his head out of the window to get photos of the harvesting in the fields near Weybourne (he is a closet tractor/combine spotter!). It was a beautiful clear day and he got some lovely shots. You could see the sea with the wind turbines in the far distance, I tried to count them but I gave up there are loads of them and I don't think they spoil the view at all.

Robbie spent an eternity in the bookshop, he added a number of magazines to his enormous collection, then he found several books that he absolutely had to have and the crowing glory to his shopping spree was an old copy of Bradshaws from 1954. Thankfully I'd packed a heavyweight shopping bag and we took the bag which was now full to capacity and impossibly heavy on the train to Sherringham (we had a non corridor compartment coach - probably my favourite coach of the day) and all the way back to Holt. There was just time for a quick picnic in the sunshine before we were off again heading for Sherringham again.

We travelled backwards and forwards all afternoon making sure that we were in Sherringham in time to see the Class 37 arrive and to take lots of photos. It was awesome, definitely the best part of the day. Another couple of journeys followed but I may as well have been on my own because Robbie had his head out of the window taking photos and listening to the powerful growl of the engine. We stayed for the very last train to Holt and then headed back to the bungalow tired but happy. 

"No one left and no one came on the bare platform" - Edward Thomas

Wednesday 7th August

We had an early start this morning. I don't like being ruled by the clock when we are on holiday, but we planned to visit the North Norfolk Railway and we wanted to get there early so that we could spend the whole day travelling between Holt, Weybourne and Sheringham. 

Surprisingly Robbie didn't make a fuss about getting up early, he got up,shaved showered and ate breakfast without any 'delaying tactics' - almost unheard of even on a work day! I more or less knew the way to Holt but more to prove a point than anything else I decided to use the sat-nav! It decided to take us on a different and rather contorted route via North Walsham so instead of the voice of the sat-nav sighing and saying "recalculating" I had Mr B at the side of me huffing and puffing because he didn't approve of the route and because he couldn't get a good enough phone signal to send an important email to his work. Norfolk is dreadful for phone signals and Internet access, Vodafone is better than 02 but it is still dreadful. If I drive to Stalham and stand on one leg on the middle of the Tesco car park I can usually get an 02 signal of sorts but it is rather hazardous and tends to attract attention!

We got to the North Norfolk Railway soon after 10am, in time to catch the Black 5 to Weybourne. I needed to visit the rather splendid toilets at Weybourne and after the early start I needed a nice cup of tea and a piece of their lovely cherry and walnut shortbread. A Class 31 arrived into Weybourne heading for Holt and I thought Robbie was going to burst with excitement. He was disappointed to find that they planned to swap it for a kettle off the shed at Weybourne on its return journey but at least he had a chance to see and hear it and take some photos. Apparently the kettle (GWR 5619) had failed that morning and the Class 31 had replaced it until the kettle could be coaxed into action. We watched it come off the shed and it didn't sound quite right (to my untrained ear) it was making strange 'trumping' sounds as if it was expelling air, but it looked rather splendid and I was delighted to see a woman in the cab. 

We travelled to Sheringham, had a look at the shop and bought a jigsaw and DVD for Robbie and a few postcards etc for me. then when the next train arrived we got a welcome cup of tea (coffee for Robbie) and travelled all the way back to Holt for a picnic lunch. Robbie positioned us in exactly the right place so that he didn't miss anything and as soon as there was anything to be seen or photographed he dashed over to get a better look.

More trips between the three Stations followed as well as a brief walk into Sheringham (which was horrible because it was far too crowded).For me the highlight of the day was the diesel, it looks amazing and sounds even better. I decided to pass on the very last trip of the day because I wanted to get some film of the train leaving and arriving. I made the right choice I got some really nice photos and video clips but there was something even better than that. I sat on a bench some distance down the platform towards the signal box enjoying the tranquillity and thinking of the poem Adlestrop. In our case the blackbird's song in the poem would have been replaced with the mournful calling of the wood pigeon, but the line "no one went and no one came on the bare platform" seemed to describe the late afternoon tranquillity of Holt station perfectly. I knew that the train wasn't due but I glanced along the line and I saw a slight movement on the other side of the line almost level with the signal box. As I watched a deer came into view and ambled across the line towards the signal box before vanishing into the undergrowth. I was not close enough to take a photo and I didn't have time to think of that anyway. It was one of those special moments that can't be preserved except in memory.

Relaxing on the Railway

We had decided to get up early and drive to the North Norfolk Railway on Wednesday, but even the prospect of trains didn't encourage Robbie to get a wriggle on. We set of quite a lot later than we planned, but as it was Cromer Carnival I hoped that people would be heading to Cromer rather than Weybourne. As it turned out everyone seemed to have shunned Cromer in favour of the railway and we couldn't park at Weybourne. We drove to Holt instead and we found a fairly convenient parking space, it had the added bonus of giving Robbie the chance to take countless photos of Holt Flyer, the old Routemaster bust that runs between the station and the town centre.

Holt station is nowhere near as nice as Weybourne, and the toilets are disappointing but Robbie likes Holt because it has fairground rides and a little museum, which gives Robbie the chance to take lots of photos. We made lots of trips between Holt, Weybourne and Sherringham and there was the inevitable and very long visit to the railway bookshop at Weybourne. I don't know where we are going to put all his new books and magazines when we get home!

We had taken a picnic lunch with is and we ate it in the sunshine at a picnic table at Holt Station. The forecast was for strong wind and torrential rain, but it did not materialise, there was a brief shower which only lasted two or three minutes in the early afternoon, then it was calm and sunny again until we were back at the bungalow and we had a sudden heavy shower which lasted for less than five minutes. We have been very lucky with the weather it has been dry and sunny every day and I don't think I have worn a jacket or cardigan for the whole fortnight.

Dragged By a Rat and Pulled by a Gronk

Robbie was getting withdrawal symptoms after a few days without trains and he was very keen to go to the North Norfolk Railway on Wednesday. We planned to drive to North Walsham and get the train to Sherringham, but the car park was full so we drove to Weybourne instead, it is a nice drive but a bit narrow and scary in places. We were there in time for the 10.44 train that Robbie was keen to catch. 

The highlight of my visit was as always the beautiful station at Weybourne, the amazing bookshop and the incredible toilets - they are a work of art in their own right. One of the benefits of travelling by car and parking at Weybourne was that Robbie was able to buy a whole shopping bag full of books and magazines and we could put them into the car rather than having to carry them around with us.

We travelled between Weybourne, Sherringham and Holt so many time that I can't remember how many trips we made, but we travelled in a selection of Mk 1 carriages, a Kings Cross Suburban coache and a standard corridor coach. There were two engines out for most of the day, a J15 loco and a Black 5, both were amazing in there different ways. Towards the end of the day they had a DMU 101 on the route but one of the engines failed between Sherringham and Weybourne so they had to get a Class 25 type 1 loco off the shed to drag the DMU. Robbie found this unbelievably exciting, but I didn't enjoy being surrounded by badly behaved brats (compartment coaches have a lot to recommend them!). Robbie insisted on staying for the last trip but I escaped at Weybourne to the relative tranquility of the car park, It really is a beautiful station

Every now and then go away and have a little relaxation. To remain constantly at work will diminish your judgement. - Leonardo DaVinci

Robbie had a plan to get up early and drive to North Walsham to catch the train to Sherringham to spend another day on the North Norfolk Railway. All this rushing around to catch trains is getting suspiciously like our normal routine, I would have liked our holiday to have been less 'timetabled' but I guess that life with Robbie means that almost everything is timetabled! I was very pleased when late on Saturday evening he decided that he would rather go out for Sunday lunch than go to the railway. Like Scooby Doo he will do almost anything for food..

It was a lovely sunny day and we had a leisurely morning listening to the Archers and enjoying the luxury of time. By midday we were at a restaurant in Mundsley having Sunday lunch. The vegetables were served in a dish, cabbage, peas, carrots and leeks, but Robbie rejected all of them and tucked into roast pork, apple sauce, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes and lashings of gravy. Oh well, at least I enjoyed the vegetables!

After lunch we decided to go for a drive and I surprised Robbie by driving him to Weybourne so that he could visit the station bookshop. I let the sat nav guide me to Weybourne, it was a lovely journey but there were lots of twists and turns and it was scarily narrow in places. We got a lovely view of a windmill and there were beautiful costal views.

Robbie spent an eternity choosing books and magazines and he darted around taking photos of the trains. He was like a kid in a sweet shop, books, magazines and trains, he didn't know what to do first! We came home with a bag of magazines, books, maps and catalogues, and Robbie has spent most of the evening reading.

Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and the unknown. Through them we pass out into adventure and sunshine, to them, alas! we return - E. M. Forster

The weather forecast for Norfolk told us to expect a heavy rain today so I wasn’t in too much of a hurry to get up, but when I looked out of the window it was sunny so Robbie decided that we should get organised and go to the North Norfolk Railway. Suddenly our life was set on fast forward and somehow we managed to catch the 10.13am train from North Walsham to Sheringham. It is a pleasant journey with some lovely costal views and for a time I was happy to stare out of the window lost in my own thoughts, but after a while I chatted to Robbie about various things. As we pulled into Cromer I sensed that Robbie was not really listening, he seemed to be on auto pilot so I casually mentioned that there was a tiger on the platform, the man sitting opposite looked a bit worried, but Robbie just said ‘yes dear’. I wish he would drag his attention from that blackberry for five minutes!

I enjoyed the North Norfolk Railway. For me the highlight of the day was a visit to the Ladies loo at Weyborne Station. It is a lovely little station, very clean and beautifully kept, it is clear from the many little details that this is a labour of love for all those involved in running this station. The ladies toilets are amazing, very old fashioned with heavy wooden doors, but they are kept spotlessly clean and the walls are decorated with metal posters. The area around the sink is fascinating, like a mini museum, there is a big display case on the wall above the sink filled with all sorts of interesting items and to the side is a display of old money and various other interesting posters. It makes a visit to the ladies a very pleasant and memorable experience.

Robbie enjoyed taking photos, looking at all the stock in their yard and of course travelling on the trains between Sherringham, Weybourne and Holt. His rucksack got heavier as the day went on because he bought a number of magazines from the wide selection of back numbers available at the shop. I enjoyed the views on the trip to Holt and I liked the compartment coaches, it felt like travelling back in time. Robbie wants to go back again on Sunday, I don’t really mind. However if he thinks he is dragging me out to travel behind 47s between Norwich and Great Yarmouth all day on Saturday he can think again, he can go on his own, I have better things to do.